New Texas road to have nation's fastest speed limit

A truck barrels past a newly posted 80 mph speed limit sign just west of Monahans in West Texas, Wednesday, May 31, 2006. Cars on two stretches of rural Texas highways can now legally travel 80 mph, (130kph) the highest speed limit in the country. Truck speed limits remained at 70 mph. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)

Feared by some, fancied by others, a stretch of Texas toll road will open soon with the highest speed limit in the country - 85 mph.

The Texas Transportation Commission recently set the new speed limit for a 41-mile stretch of Texas 130 between the Austin suburb of Mustang Ridge and Interstate 10 at Seguin. Driving at the 85 limit, a motorist could travel the entire distance in less 29 minutes. But that time will be shaved further by the obvious: Many drivers will hit at least 90 on the speedometer, believing troopers will not ticket anyone for exceeding the limit by just a tad.

Scheduled for completion by Nov. 11, the segment is being built by State Highway 130 Concession Co., LLP, a private consortium comprised of the Spanish toll road firm Cintra and U.S.-based Zachry.

Some experts say the new higher speed limit is likely to result in more traffic-related deaths.

"Research clearly demonstrates the direct connection between higher speed limits and more fatalities," Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Va., said in an earlier interview. "When speed limits go up, deaths on those roads go up. When speed limits go down, deaths on those roads go down."

The consortium designed, built and paid for the 41-mile piece of road known as Segments 5 and 6 and will operate and maintain that stretch for the next 50 years, said consortium spokesman Chris Lippincott.

In a statement, the company said, "The Texas Department of Transportation has determined that SH 130 Segments 5 and 6 may be safely traveled at 85 miles per hour. We are committed to operating a safe, reliable highway for our customers. On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles."

Toll rates for the 85 mph segment were still under discussion Thursday, Lippincott said.

"Hopefully, we'll have something in the next couple weeks," he said.

Terri Hall, founder and director of Texans United for Reform and Freedom, a nonprofit that opposes private control of toll roads, said SH 130 is about profit, not safe transportation.

"I think it's obvious they are trying to incentivize people to use Cintra's toll road by increasing the speed limit on 130," Hall said. "Transportation decisions that are being made surround money and profit instead of the public interest. The higher the speed limit, the more attractive the toll road becomes."

Texas now has about 3,200 miles of roadway with a 75 mph speed limit, representing about 4 percent of the state's 80,000 highway miles, according to TxDOT.

The state's 575 miles of roads with an 80 mph speed limit account for less than 1 percent of Texas roadways, the agency said.